Final answer:
Matthew's purpose is to demonstrate that Jesus Christ fulfills the expectations of the Old Testament through typological parallels, emphasizing spiritual salvation and the continuity of Christian and Jewish traditions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Matthew's purpose in connecting Christ with Old Testament (OT) expectations is to adopt a typological approach to Christian theology, presenting Jesus as the new Moses and emphasizing that Jesus's mission and teachings fulfill the Mosaic Law and other prophecies from the OT. This connection highlights the theme of salvation present both in the OT and the New Testament (NT) and presents a continuity that the early Church used to explain and legitimize the new Christian faith in the context of Jewish tradition.
Typological examples, like the parallel between Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac and Jesus's crucifixion, point to the idea that OT events were foreshadowing the ultimate salvation offered by Christ's sacrifice. This viewpoint is crystallized in The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio, where Matthew's calling alludes to the transformative potential inherent in following Jesus, and in the depiction of Christ Pantokrator, which conveys the triumphant and universal power of Christian salvation.
The NT story of Jesus calling Levi, who becomes Matthew, is an example of how OT figures were used to establish the legitimacy of Jesus as the Messiah—a Messiah offering spiritual liberation rather than earthly sovereignty. Early Christian teachings, following Paul, affirmed Jesus's messiahship and introduced a spiritual interpretation of the OT prophecies.